Truce of Hudaibiyah
The Prophet (r) had a vision that he entered Makkah and circumambulated the sacred
House of God. It was a true dream from God, as it would later come true, although the
period, month or year of the pilgrimage had not been indicated in the vision. The compa-
nions of the Prophet were overjoyed when the Prophet (r) told them about it.
Everybody esteemed and revered Makkah and the holy sanctuary there. The opportunity
of paying a visit to it had been denied to them for a very long time, but nobody ever ceased
to think of the holy city. They had been longing to go on a pilgrimage to Makkah all those
years and were looking forward to the day when their hearts’ desire would be fulfilled. The
Muhaajirun were especially consumed with such desire since Makkah had been their birth-
place and they had lived and grown up there but they were forced to abandon it.
As soon as the Prophet (r) informed the companions of the vision, all of them started
making preparations for the journey while their over-enthusiasm at the prospect of realizing
the ambition of their life convinced them that they were going to call upon the house of God
that very year. Almost all of them promptly agreed to accompany the Prophet (r) with
hardly anyone opting to be left behind.
TRIP TO MAKKAH
It was the month of Dhul-Q’adah, in the sixth year of Hijrah, when the Prophet (r) tra-
veled to Makkah with the intention of performing ‘Umra (the lesser pilgrimage). The Proph-
et (r) had no intention of performing the Hajj, however. He had with him fourteen hundred
companions as pilgrims, along with the sacrificial animals so that everybody would know
that he was going not for war but for paying homage to the Ka'bah. (Zad al-Ma’ad, Vol. I, p.
380, Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, p. 308).
When he neared Makkah, the Prophet (r) sent ahead a man from Khuza’a to find out the
reaction of the Quraysh. When the Prophet (r) reached Usfan, a village between Makkah
and Madinah, the informer came back to tell him that the tribesman of K’ab b. Luayy had
assembled a strong force of nomad warriors to check his advance to Makkah. The Prophet
(r), continued to drive ahead.
Upon reaching a depression in the valley of Makkah, his dromedary called Qaswa knelt
down and would not get up. The men around the Prophet (r) started exclaiming, “Qaswa
won’t get up, Qaswa won’t get up!”
But the Prophet (r) said: “Qaswa has not refused, for such is not her nature. The One who
restrained the elephants is keeping her back.” He was referring to how Alah witheld the
Ethiopian army from entering Makkah many years before. The prophet (r) continued: “I
swear by Him who holds my life that if they propose anything to me pertinent with the
regard due to Allah and asked me to show kindness, I will certainly accede to their request.”